“Hamilton” wins big as Broadway mourns Orlando victi

"Hamilton" ascended to the awards throne to which the Broadway smash has been headed all season, taking home eleven trophies at the 2016 Tony Awards at the Beacon Theater in New York City, including the top prize for new musical, in a ceremony that aimed to strike a tricky balance between acknowledging the recent shootings in Orlando with the life-affirming impulse to go on with the show.

The big winner of the night among plays was "The Humans", snagging four trophies including the medal for new play, while the revival awards went to musical "The Color Purple" and play "A View from the Bridge". The Tony ceremony also stood in stark contrast to this year's #OscarsSoWhite controversy by setting a new landmark in diversity, with all four musical acting trophies going to African-American performers — three from "Hamilton" and one from "The Color Purple".

The live Broadcast on CBS opened with host James Corden making an impassioned speech about the tragic events in Florida, which had occurred less than 24 hours before the telecast.

"Your tragedy is our tragedy," he told Orlando from the stage. "Hate will never win. Tonight's show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle."

"Hamilton" creator-star Lin-Manuel Miranda also acknowledged the shootings in his first speech at the podium, accepting the award for best score, where he proceeded to read a sonnet.

The telecast was bound to have a political overtone even before the Florida shootings cast a shadow over the proceedings. "Hamilton", the founding-father saga retold with hip-hop and a diverse cast, had such cultural pull that it warranted an introduction by President Obama and the First Lady, with the president, in a videotaped sequence, praising the show as "a civics lesson kids can't get enough of."

The upcoming presidential election also provided fodder for the ceremony, as immigration issues got a handful of shout-outs, too.

Stephen Karam's nuanced family drama "The Humans" took the trophy for best play, as well as the featured acting in a play trophies and the medal for set design.

"Hamilton" also closed out the telecast, taking the evening's final trophy, new musical, and then sending its cast on stage to perform "The Schuyler Sisters" under the credits.